Handball and the Olympic park

As a thank you for doing a great job we got free tickets, I got a ticket to the quarter finals of handball. Unfortunately not to the Danish game.

Trip to Barra da Tijuca

I left the hostel two hours before the start of the game, just to be sure that I would make it. I have heard stories about people standing in crazy long lines and then being able to see only half of the game.

I chose to take the public transport this time, to see how well it works. This required me to take two metro lines and then a special bus to the Olympic park. I took the first metro line until the end and then changed to line 4. The metro line that they built specially for the Olympics and it is four stops long. You can only get to the metro with a valid event ticket or accreditation.

The trip took around one hour and the transfers and guides were really good, so it is probably impossible to get lost. Then a bit of walking and I had reached my destination.

The Olympic park

It is huge!

It is like a city with different venues and sponsor houses and restaurants. The venues are on different levels, so there is a lot to see.

Handball is one of the last venues in the park, so I had to walk through the whole park before getting there. Next to the handball venue, they have a party area. The beer sponsor has put up a promotional party tent with DJs and a bar. Next to that is a so called chill area. There you can sit in the shade and watch the games on a big screen.

The shaded areas were all full of people. All places that had a little shadow was occupied with people. Kids were sleeping in the eating area in the table shadows. The reason was that it was +35 degrees outside and a clear blue sky. So it was really hot. Especially in the Olympic park as it is a flat area with a lot of open space. It is also important to remember that it is winter here in Brazil right now. 😀

I also had lunch here. This is what you get when ordering a pizza and ice tea:

Handball game

The venue was supposed to be opened 90 minutes before the game starts and they urge everyone to come early to avoid standing in lines. Yes, that works on paper but we are in Brazil. Nothing follows a schedule here.

There was a huge line of people waiting to get into the venue. They did not open the gates until 50 minutes before the game start. So much for avoiding lines. 😀

The seat that I got was in a really good sector, right next to the press tribunes. Makes sense. 😀
But a very unfortunate placement. There was the edge of the stairs right in front of me, so I had metal wires blocking my way a bit. The good thing was that when I sat back, then I could see the whole court between the wires. 😀

The sector that I sat in was the most expensive one. But if I would have paid more money to get a better place and then get stuck behind a staircase. That would be annoying. Luckily, I didn’t pay for my ticket. 😀

The game was quarterfinals between Germany and Qatar. The game was really exciting, although Germany took the lead already from the start. They managed to keep the lead and won with more than a 10 point difference.

After the game I took the bus and metros back to the hostel and then it was time to get to work.